1

The State of Asia’s Water Supply

and Sanitation Sector: Issues,

Challenges & Solutions

Mai Flor Executive Director

15 December 2015

2

Global physical and economic water scarcity

Availability of Accessible Fresh Water in Asia Asia–SelectCountryWaterEndowments

Country 2011CubicMeters/

PerCapitaIRWRAfghanistan 1,620Armenia 2,314Australia 22,039Azerbaijan 885Bangladesh 687Cambodia 8,257China 2,093India 1,184Indonesia 8,281Kazakhstan 3,886Korea 1,303Maldives 90Pakistan 312Philippines 5,039Singapore 116SriLanka 2,530

3

Bangladesh decline in groundwater table by 6 meters in 7 years China 2/3 of 669 principal towns and cities have water shortages; more than 50% of major river systems heavily polluted

India

wastewater treatment covers less than 24% of wastewater

costing the Indian economy USD 75 M annually

Philippines 17 of 20 river basins are forecast to experience major water

shortages by 2025

country SITUATION

Global water demand: OECD base line scenario 2000 and 2050

4

Asia’s Urban Population Increase

Urbanization Level and Changes (actual and projected)

5

Number of Megacities (1)

Metro Manila

12 million population

Urban sprawl extending to neighboring Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Batangas has population of 24 million

4 million living in slums

population PHILIPPINES

6

Number of Megacities (2)

Blue water consumption in ten most populated

river basins

7

summary ASIA

• Per capita endowments declining

• Urbanization exponential

• 2/3 of China’s population and half of India’s live in

towns and cities

• Limited wastewater treatment results in high pollution

levels at many major river basins

• Slums account for 25% of urban population

• Freshwater withdrawals are highest in most populous

basins in Asia

• Megacities most numerous in Asia and population size

getting larger

Where will Asia get the

additional water it needs

to meet its growing

demand?

8

Asia must get efficient in

its water use!

water operator PARTNERSHIPS

• Initiated by 1st Hashimoto Action Plan (2006)

Calling for breakthroughs in vital areas of water services

delivery, especially through water operator partnerships

(WOP), to help reach MDGs

• Range of donors and organizations support WOP globally

Global WOP Alliance (GWOPA) led by UN-Habitat;

regional WOP networks in Latin America, Africa, and Asia

• Focus on practical knowledge sharing and twinning

partnerships

Capacity building through twinning partnerships

between water operators, training, and knowledge

development (e.g. toolkits, guidelines, etc.)

9

about WATERLINKS

• From a platform of WOP activities in 2008, WaterLinks

has become an independent NGO registered in the

Philippines in 2011.

• Facilitate WOPs, regional trainings, knowledge

development with urban water/wastewater operators

across the Asia-Pacific region

• Supported by USAID, GWOPA

• In-kind support from partners, IWA and ADB

waterlinks MISSION

• Mission: catalyze measurable

change in the delivery of safe

water and sustainable

sanitation urban services

10

waterlinks CORE ACTIVITIES

WOPs TRAINING & TOOLKITS WATERLINKS AWARD WATERLINKS FORUM

• Facilitated over 66 WOPs in the

region since 2008 (ADB and USAID)

• Helped improve/expand access to safe water and sustainable

sanitation for over 1,000,000 urban residents

• Catalyzed replication of over 150 good practices and innovations

• Strengthened capacities of

2,500+ practitioners

• Leveraged 1:1 funding through cost share and buy-in

program RESULTS

11

wop FOCUS Area

• NRW Management

• Water Quality

Management

• Wastewater

Management

• Climate Change

Adaptation

• Energy Efficiency

• NRW Management

• 19 - month partnership

• PDAM serves 800,000 population with 160,000 connections

• Results:

• Establishment of a NRW Department

• Active leak control

• Establishment of 3 DMAs

• Reduced NRW by 10% on average in 3 DMAs

• Borouge grant of USD35,000 for pipe replacement

benefitting 3,000 people

case study PDAM KOTA DENPASAR (Indonesia) – RANHILL UTILITIES (Malaysia)

12

• Climate change adaptation

• 20 - month partnership

• 2 sites: Udon Thani serving 330,000 people with 46,200

connections and Chang Rai serving 121,200 people with

19,400 connections

• Results:

• Improved water quality at both sites through changes in

treatment protocols benefitting 500,000 people

• Reduced NRW thru implementation of meter

management program in Udon Thani benefitting 6,600

people

case study PWA (Thailand) – Water Corp (Australia)

• Wastewater management

• 17 - month partnership

• LAWACO serves 24,000 people with 6,700 connections

• Results:

• Improved wastewater treatment efficacy resulting in

improved wastewater services for 6,000 customers

• Updated wastewater treatment and sewer

operation manual

• Upgrade of LAWACO’s water quality laboratory

case study LAWACO (Vietnam) – K-Water (Korea)

13

• 17 - month partnership quality management on water

• Kwater is Korea’s largest water services provider supplying

water to 45% of the population

• PPCWD serves 185,000 population with 30,000 connections

• Results:

• Improved treatment processes employed in Campo Uno

treatment plant thereby addressing turbidity.

• Identification of new water source and the development

of a Feasibility Study

• As a result PPCWD was able to secure a loan from DBP

for the development of a new treatment plant

case study PUERTO PRINCESSA CITY WATER

DISTRICT – K-WATER (Korea)

• Peer-to-peer sharing is key.

• Close facilitation/coordination of partnership activities

lead to more effective partner engagement.

• Success depends on careful selection of partners; some

financial contribution by recipient to support

infrastructure development; and development of

achievable work work program.

• Cost-sharing ensures ownership and tangible outcomes.

• Short time-frame (12-20 months) is ideal for precise,

dedicated, and specific experience/expertise transfer.

WOP LESSONS LEARNED

14

www.waterlinks.org

Ms. Mai Flor

mflor@waterlinks.org